On the last day of its term, in the last opinion issued, the U.S. Supreme Court handed the Goldwater Institute its first victory at the high court and took government’s thumb off the scale in campaign funding in Arizona and six other states. In a 5-4 decision, the Court struck down the matching-funds provisions of Arizona’s so-called “Clean Elections” system. Like others throughout the country, Arizona’s system turned fairness on its head, punishing citizen-funded candidates by handing each opponent a near dollar-for-dollar match whenever the citizen-funded candidate spent money to advertise his campaign. The Supreme Court’s ruling rebuffed the idea that the government can give preferential treatment to some political speech over others. The Court not only vindicated free speech, but also protected the last line of defense against overreaching government power: the ballot box.
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